Pressure's On: A Must-Win Contest for the Barrage
August 3, 2007 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Philadelphia Barrage News Release
Philadelphia, PA (August 2, 2007) - The Philadelphia Barrage, the 2006 Major League Lacrosse Champions, are one bus trip away from making it to the 2007 playoffs. It will be their second postseason berth in as many years, but division foes, the Washington Bayhawks, stand in their way. When the Barrage travel to Washington on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game at Georgetown University, both the Bayhawks and Barrage will be two of three teams vying for two remaining playoff spots. The game will be shown on tape delay on ESPN2 on Tuesday, August 7, at 4 p.m.
Philadelphia currently ranks second in the East, with a 7-3 record, while Washington ranks in third, with a 5-5 record, only two games behind the Barrage. The Barrage closes out its season with two games against the Bayhawks, and two crucial games they will be. The Barrage only has to win one of the remaining two games to make it to the playoffs, whereas Washington needs to beat the Barrage twice and hope for a loss by the Denver Outlaws in the Western Division. Eastern Division leader, the Rochester Rattlers, and Western Division leader, the Los Angeles Riptide, have already secured playoff spots. The final two berths will belong to the Barrage, the Bayhawks, or the Outlaws.
To propel the Barrage to a postseason spot, Philadelphia will be relying on Goalkeeper of the Week, Brian "Doc" Dougherty, whose 16 saves secured an overtime win last week in New Jersey. Dougherty and the Barrage defense will have to shut down Washington's Kyle Dixon, who currently ranks seventh in the league in points, with 38 on 20 goals and 16 assists.
On the offensive end, more strong performances from 2007 All-Star Ryan Boyle and attackman Michael Springer will be needed to secure the Barrage a playoff spot. Boyle currently ranks third in the MLL with 46 points, with 21 goals and 24 assists, while Springer rounds out the league's top 10 with 37 points, on 21 goals and 15 assists. Springer's two goals and three assists led the Barrage in the win over New Jersey last week.
The Philadelphia Barrage will close out their season against the Washington Bayhawks, traveling first to Georgetown University this Saturday for a 4 p.m. must-win contest. They will return to United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, Pa., on August 11 to wrap up the season against the Bayhawks. Faceoff is at 7p.m. Tickets are available online at www.philadelphiabarrage.com or by calling the Barrage ticket office at 610-355-8999.
2007 Barrage Game Schedule:
May 19 at Boston Cannons W 13-9
June 2 vs. Rochester Rattlers W 21-17
June 9 vs. Boston Cannons W 16-13
June 16 at Long Island Lizards L 16-11
June 23 at Rochester Rattlers L 16-11
June 30 vs. Long Island Lizards W 14-13 OT
July 6 vs. San Francisco Dragons W 14-9
July 12 at New Jersey Pride W 12-7
July 21 at Denver Outlaws L 15-13
July 26 vs. New Jersey Pride W 12-11 OT
August 4 at Washington Bayhawks 4:00 PM
August 11 vs. Washington Bayhawks 7:30 PM
Bolded games = Home Games All games are Eastern Standard Time
About the Philadelphia Barrage
The Philadelphia Barrage is a member of Major League Lacrosse, a ten-team professional outdoor lacrosse league. The Barrage moved to Philadelphia prior to the 2004 MLL season and proceeded to win the organization's first MLL Championship at the 2004 New Balance Major League Lacrosse Championship Game. In 2006, the Barrage defeated the Denver Outlaws in the MLL championship game to be crowned the Major League Lacrosse Champions for the second time in two years. The Barrage plays its home games at United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, Pa. Additional information on the Barrage can be found at www.philadelphiabarrage.com.
About Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, a ten-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and founding partners Dave Morrow, a former champion lacrosse player and now CEO of Warrior Lacrosse, a leading global provider of innovative and high performance lacrosse equipment; Timothy B. Robertson, former CEO of The Family Channel and the current chairman of Bay Shore Enterprises, L.L.C., an investment holding company with activities in international media and Internet technology ventures; and Jim Davis, chairman and CEO of New Balance. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001. The MLL is comprised of two conferences. The Eastern Conference contains the original six teams, Boston, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Rochester and Washington. The Western Conference debuted in the 2006 season with MLL expansion franchises Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.
About United Sports Training Center
United Sports Training Center is an indoor/outdoor sports facility, located in Downingtown, Pa. United Sports plays host to numerous sporting events such as tournaments, high school games and practices for both lacrosse and soccer, special events that range from high school after prom parties to political campaigns. The outdoor facility consists of 11 fields: 10 natural grass and one artificial turf, plus two lighted fields. The indoor facility includes a Mondo Surface clear span field house, two Crystaplex Boarded Sportcourt Surfaces and four 30-foot climbing surfaces. More information about United Sports can be found on their website at www.go2ustc.com.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from August 3, 2007
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